Since they were sure the Empire was too busy with the civil war to bother with them, Ethan and the others were no longer as wary of Betty as before.
As long as there were no immediate problems and they could get through this lull, encountering the Empire's forces in the future would not cause them much trouble. Once Ethan and his team had new starships, they would care even less about the Empire's threat.
As for finding Star-Lord, even if Ethan did not need Peter Quill's help, he still needed to find someone. Even if he managed to get a spaceship, he could not ignore one awkward problem.
The members of the Prinz Eugen, not counting Betty, including Ethan himself, did not know how to pilot a spaceship.
Maria Hill had received training in warship command and piloting courses at S.H.I.E.L.D., including large-scale aircraft, but S.H.I.E.L.D.'s technological level was not advanced enough to develop spaceships. Flying aircraft carriers were their limit.
This awkward situation came about because Ethan had not expected to venture into space so quickly, so he had not rushed to learn the relevant knowledge. Now that he needed it, he realized learning on the spot was too late.
Unless he stayed in a certain world for a long period to study, this was the most reliable option if he did not seek help from others.
"Looks like I need to find some time to properly catch up on some knowledge."
He could explain Betty's questions when he returned. Anyway, as far as they were concerned, it was as if he had not left.
"Catch up on what?"
Unsurprisingly, as soon as Ethan arrived in the Marvel world, the first person to seek him out was Tony.
Ever since Tony had learned magic and become a true mage apprentice, his sensitivity to magical fluctuations allowed him to detect Ethan's arrival immediately.
That was only if Ethan did not deliberately hide his magical fluctuations. With his strength, if he intentionally concealed himself, even the Ancient One would not be able to detect his arrival.
As it happened, the Sorcerer Supreme responsible for preventing Earth from being invaded by other dimensions was an acquaintance of Ethan's. He had already obtained permission for free entry and exit, so there was no need to deliberately conceal his whereabouts.
What's more, it also let Tony know he had arrived, so he did not need to notify him specifically.
"Back so soon?"
Only after asking did Tony remember that the flow of time was different on their respective sides. Only a little over a month had passed on his side since he last saw Ethan, and it was hard to judge how much time had actually passed on Ethan's side. "Has it been a long time, then?"
Tony noticed that Ethan had only brought Maria Hill this time, with no one else accompanying him. Having lived on the Prinz Eugen for a while, Tony knew that Ethan usually tried to bring his companions along, so there were always many people with him every time he traveled. This situation was very unusual.
"Not that long has passed. There have been some changes on my side, and I need Peter to help with a small favor."
"Peter? Peter Quill?"
"Yes, him."
Tony did not understand what finding Peter Quill could do. However, he was more interested in what trouble Ethan had encountered.
As for Maria Hill, after a brief greeting with Tony, she left Ethan's mansion alone, preparing to go talk to Nick Fury about some matters.
Ethan did not stop her, simply explaining, "I'll be resting here for two days, and then I'll set off to find Peter. If you want to go with me, then come back within two days. If not, I'll notify you before I leave this world."
Maria Hill thought about it and felt that two days would not be enough to finish her own matters. Plus, Ethan was just going to find someone, so it did not matter if she did not follow.
As for the cosmic civilizations of this world, Hill was not in a hurry to see them this time. Since Ethan was going into space, he would eventually bring out the relevant technology and equipment.
As a commander herself, she would inevitably come into contact with and learn the relevant knowledge, so she was not in a hurry at all.
Only after Hill left did Tony start asking what had happened after he left. Ethan did not hide anything and explained the situation thoroughly.
During the conversation, Tony occasionally made a few sarcastic remarks, interspersed with some updates on his own situation. By the time they had talked enough, both knew what the other had experienced during this period.
There was no need to discuss Ethan's side. After Tony returned to his own world, he lived a relatively peaceful life.
His usual life consisted of studying magic, conducting scientific experiments, and his parents' recovery was also going very well. They could already leave the lab and move around outside, and it would not be long before they could live freely like normal people.
Just thinking about his parents being resurrected filled Tony's heart with gratitude toward Ethan. However, saying thank you too much seemed overly sentimental, so he preferred to express it through actions.
"According to what you said, you need a spaceship now."
"Yes."
"Are you looking for Peter because you want to buy one through him?" Tony thought of a question. "Do you have money?"
Tony was a super-rich tycoon on Earth, but in the universe, he was a penniless pauper. Money from Earth was not recognized by the various advanced civilizations in the universe, and the mineral resources on Earth could not attract those civilizations either. To this day, he had not figured out what the common currency among the various cosmic civilizations was based on.
"If I want a spaceship, there are ready-made ships waiting for me to pick up. It's just that this time I need an experienced space adventurer to help out."
"So that's how it is."
When it came to space navigation, adventure, and other such matters, Peter was the most knowledgeable person they knew. The next was Thor, the new God-King of Asgard.
In terms of relationship, Thor and Ethan were closer, but Thor, having inherited the position of God-King, could not leave Asgard casually. Besides, according to Ethan's description, those tasks were not Thor's forte either.
"What kind of world is that good? There are spaceships just waiting to be picked up?"
"Interested? I can take you with me then."
Ethan was naturally talking about the world of Prometheus. Not only did that world have the Prometheus ship that he liked very much, but most importantly, obtaining this ship was no trouble at all.
Because everyone on that ship was actively seeking death, and finally succeeded in killing themselves off. Besides the heroine Elizabeth Shaw, who survived by the protagonist's halo, only the synthetic human David, who gradually grew into the main villain, survived to the end.
A bunch of dead people had no use for the ship. What Ethan needed to do was collect the Prometheus before it was destroyed, and then leave with the ship.
As of now, the Prometheus could already meet the needs of Ethan's team. By the time they had higher demands, Tony would have already built a new ship.
"Speaking of which, don't you have any requirements for your first starship?"
Ethan's destination for this teleportation was his manor in Los Angeles. Basically, he would choose this place as his landing point whenever he came to the Marvel world in the future.
After arriving here, Tony and Ethan went to the underground laboratory. Tony had added a lot of equipment here. Now Tony stood in front of a workbench, asking Ethan about his requirements for a spaceship, just like he had asked about the Prinz Eugen's requirements back then.
"No requirements for now, as long as it's big enough and sturdy."
If possible, Ethan really wanted Tony to directly build him an Infinity or a Macross, but he also knew that building such giant starships directly without any technological accumulation was unrealistic.
He chose the Prometheus not only because its appearance suited his aesthetic but also because the Prometheus was not considered a large spaceship. This size made it convenient for Tony to carry out various modifications, and it would not take too long to complete.
"What about the appearance? You have to let me know some of your preferences, right?"
"Appearance, huh..." Ethan did not give an answer. Instead, he asked Tony how big of a spaceship he planned to build. He was not sure about this point and did not know what kind of design he should ask for. "As long as it doesn't look too weird."
"Although I really want to build a big one right away, you know that's impossible."
Tony spread his hands. Considering the numerous technical problems that needed to be solved to send a massive object from Earth's surface into space, this also limited the size of the ship.
To build large spaceships, it was best to build them in orbit, but that would require building a space station or even a space base first.
Whenever this happened, Tony started thinking about his Dyson Sphere project. If there was a Dyson Sphere base, not only would the size of the spaceship no longer be an issue, but the materials for building warships would also be easy to obtain. There were enough materials in the vast universe for him to mine freely.
"Let's leave these problems for later. I'm going to find Peter right away."
Maria Hill was not going into space with him. Ethan realized there was no need to waste time resting for two days before setting off, so he decided to go find Star-Lord immediately.
Considering that he had not left any mark on Star-Lord, the most reliable way to find him was to go to Asgard and ask Heimdall for help. This meant Ethan had to make a trip to Asgard, and it would be impossible not to see Thor once he was there. If the new God-King got excited, he would very likely throw a grand banquet to welcome him.
The situation was pretty much as Ethan had predicted. After he arrived in Asgard and greeted Thor, Thor could not wait to have a banquet prepared.
Fortunately, Ethan promptly stated that he still had matters to attend to and the banquet could be held after he returned.
Besides the banquet, Thor also made a suggestion that surprised Ethan a little.
"Actually, Asgard happens to have someone who knows about spaceship piloting and space adventuring."
(To be continued.)